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This is the Kinetic kit, straight out of the box. It's a decent kit, but it does has issues. The fit in places is not the best and the instructions could be clearer in terms of colour call outs. They also misnumber numerous parts and decals, so you need to read the instructions carefully. Decals settle down nicely, but the black tulip on the nose has cut outs for the gun ports that don't line up. Thus I had to fill in the gaps with some leftover white decal and black paint. It was meant to be a quicker build, but ended up taking 4 months! I'm pretty please though with how it's turned out. I've also chosen not to weather the machine much at all, just applied a semi gloss coat to it. These aircraft looked pretty clean in service thus I've kept my model that way.

HI all, A quick out of the box build for me, apart from the aftermarket decals from Bingo Decals. The Kinetic kit is a average kit, I did look online for a few builds and sought solace in others experiences. The kit is well detailed with great panel lines etc, the choice of the older four bladed props or the new swept eight blades adds a different slant. The whole kit demands presence in either the folded or spread wings layout, I chose folded if only for the storage, the reality is being an ex-navy engineer, I have a calling to naval, carrier based aviation, UK and US. One thing to note though, and I took advice from one build online, I added a large amount of weight to the nose area, it wasn't enough though so I displayed the model with tail supports. The kit decals didn't do the subject justice so to Bingo decals I went, the Screwtops CAG aircraft looked cool so that was the one for me. With the aircraft built and finished in Mr Color, US Navy grey, it was on with the decals, the large/ extra large screw on the radome was a real worry, but it went on with no problems, settling down with Micro Sol. The rest of the decals posed no problems apart from the nose where the contour of the nose in front of the cockpit did seem to stop the decals following the contours, however after a good bit of soaking and gentle brushing, the decals conformed and in the morning looked just fine. A quick panel wash and on with the wings, props and radome then she was ready to sit with my other US Navy aircraft. FLY NAVY, eat crab. The Woo.

Hi all Just finished my latest venture which is the QinetiQ Alpha Jet by Kinetic. Cheers Mick

Hi guys here is my Kinetic F-84F in the colors of the Dutch 311 squadron. This kit seems to have very deep panel lines but I did not experienced it as very problematic. In fact I liked this kit very much. Decals are from Dutch Decal and the cockpit oi from Aires. Erik

At club night, the first remark I heard about this model was ... "You do know it's not a Harrier, don't you?" ... which explains why my usual instructions and build notes didn't match the parts I was working on. And then I heard "It's a bit big for you, isn't it? ... which also explains why none of the items in my spares box were any use at all and the paint was disappearing faster than usual. Sadly the next remark was not "Do you want a beer?" but "Have you had enough of Harriers then?" And the answer to that is, "No, of course not!" Now it's true to say that this model was a freebie and perhaps not my first choice, but that's due to the scale and not the subject. After all, it is in the Hawker family. I would build more, but there's too many Harriers to get through. As it's a dull and dreary day before Easter, I thought I'd add some colour to a grey day ... look away now as the rest of the thread contains images you may find disturbing on a military fast jet in active service ... For the record it's the Kinetic 1/32nd scale Hawk 100 Series kit in the airshow display team colours of the 85th Combat Flying School, South African Air Force. Except for the addition of the rear chaff / flare dispenser it uses the parts straight from the kit. SAAF decals are home made and used alongside kit stencils. The paint scheme is brushed (Vallejo / Xtracrylix acrylics) with the exception of the yellow which is from a rattle can. Any resemblance to a Mk.120, particularly the cockpit, is coincidental, as the Hawk experts among you will already have noticed.

— from Sea Harrier Over the Falklands by Commander ‘Sharkey’ Ward, 1992 Inspired by a talk given to my hang gliding club by David Morgan, who (as of this writing) is still the last British pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat, I built my kit as one that he flew in the Falklands War of 1982. More photos and description on this page of my web site: La muerte negra

The Kinetic Harrier T2/4/8 is a lovely model, and builds to a very nice representation of the ugliest of the Harrier family. However, it is not perfect, and benefits from some tweaks. This was the second one I built, after I suffered a bad reaction between the oil paint thinners I used for weathering and the Alclad varnish on the first. As I had had several problems with the paint, I decided to start again. The second time I spent more time checking fit, and got a much better build much faster. Some of the following have been covered in other (better) builds, but I decided to list all the changes I made. Some were to improve fit, others to improve accuracy. I'll come the only real error of accuracy at the end. I normally don’t care too much, but I spent several years working on Harriers and wanted a good model of one I was lucky enough to fly in - even if I was very air-sick. Most of these fall into the "you must be mad" category. The main wheel bays roof should have 2 indentations to fit the Harrier's enlarged wheels over the earlier P1127. I just scraped some indentations out of the thick plastic. The main wheel bays benefitted from a lot of check fitting and adjusting, both as an assembly and then when fitting to the fuselage. The easier solution would be to position the wheel doors almost closed - they drooped an inch or so on the ground but could be unlatched to open fully for maintenance. The rear cockpit did not fit well, with a gap between the interseat area and the port fuselage side. First time round I thought it was my mistake, but the second time I reduced the width of the port rear shelf to fit the fuselage side better. Result, no gap. I added a plate with 3 holes to the port sidewall of the rear cockpit to simulate the fibreglass liner. The throttle and nozzle control levers are far too small. I added larger ones using wire and plastic rod. The wing tip reaction nozzles on top are too wide (spanwise) and shallow. I reduced the width by 1mm using plastic strip, and then cut out the middle to make it deeper and simulate the rotary valve. The LRMTS nose should have bulges for the laser door pivot points. I added a small disk of plastic card to each side. There has been a lot of discussion on the inner wing pylons, which need the nose profile straightening. However, the pylons are also too long. I cut each pylon in half horizontally, then moved the lower portion forward 2mm, cut the nose at 45 degrees and cut 2mm of the rear. This also ended up with the right profile still on the wing underside. The tailplane pivot is 4mm too far forward. Kinetic have assumed that the fuselage bump is due to the pivot , but it is really there to allow the tail plane actuator and front spar to fit at max incidence. I moved the pivot back on the fuselage and tailplanes, opened up the area in front of the pivot and added some basic structure and actuator. This allowed me to show the tailplane at typical resting incidence. The tail plane tips needed a quick reshape from a sanding stick. I opened out the APU inlet and exhaust, and added the ducts and inlet mesh. The exhaust had a separate inner liner added as well. I filled the wing leading edge sawtooth depressions on the underside. I added additional bulges to the gun pods, drilled out gas ports, then added small plugs to the fronts to simulate the wooden cones that were fitted when the pods were not fitted with gun - to save weight. I added 5 thou plasticard shims to the horizontal part of the joint where the wing attaches to the aft fuselage. This raised the rear of the wing, and with a clamp pushing the wing down I got a joint that needed no filler. The only problem I could not fix entirely to my satisfaction was the intake. The engine fan is too small, and this throws out the intake shape in subtle ways. From what I can find on line, the Pegasus 103 fan was 115 cm diameter, so should be 24mm. The Kinetic fan is 21mm across, so 3mm too small. The picture shows the Monogram fan for comparison (on the left). The result is that the intake slopes in too much - I modified the forward portion it to be closer to the original profile using plastic card inserts to replace the intake trunking. The result is that the intake slopes in too much - I modified the forward portion it to be closer to the original profile using plastic card inserts to replace the intake trunking. This makes the blow-in door intakes shallower, which is more accurate - they should be visible from the front. The rear of the intake and fan can't be fixed easily, but the undersize fan is not too noticeable and I did not feel like building a new one. At the end I added Flightpath's CBLS - very nice if fiddly. Decals came from several Xtradecal sheets as well as Kinetic's, and the codes and serials were home-printed. Finally, here are a couple of pictures with an earlier member of the family - Monogram's Harrier GR1 backdated to a Kestrel. Roll on the Kinetic GR3…

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Kineticmodel/photos/a.150625411771245.1073741825.129238860576567/914857245348054/?type=3&theater Though the question: what about the 2018 Kinetic 1/48th new releases/projects? I see five options: - re-release of kits with new decals like the freshly announced F-16C (link) - main contenders are: F-5A/B Freedom Fighter, E-2C Hawkeye (link), Mirage III, CM-170 Fouga & AMX; - new variants of existing kits with a limited number of new parts like Mirage III/5 or Kfir derivatives, single and two-seats MiRSIP, Milan, Nesher, Dagger, Finger, Cheetah etc.; - new variants of existing kits with several new parts like Harrier GR.1/GR.3 link, Grumman C-1 Trader & E-1 Tracer or S-2Ts Turbo (Fire) Tracker; - kits already announced and in the pipe line (see picture herebelow): 1/48th M-346 Master link, F/A-18D ATARS Hornet link (but also 1/72nd C-17 Globemaster link & 1/32nd F86F-30 Sabre link); - Brand new type(s). Then which one? That's the question. Dassault Mirage F-1 family? (Just to p. KH) Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot" etc. All bets are off. Answer to the end of next week! V.P. Remember Nuremberg Toy Fair 2017 Update - Nuremberg Toy Fair 2018 NEW Kinetic 2018 catalogue online: https://www.facebook.com/Kineticmodel/posts/921763957990716

Hi all, As 2017 draws to a close it's a good opportunity to reflect on the builds, and to share them with you. Some have been posted in RFI but not all so I hope you enjoy taking a quick look at the past year with me. Let me know your favourite, Hope you all have a great 2018 Thanks for looking Rick G Jan 17: saw the completion of the HobbyBoss 1/48th Lansen Feb 17: two came of the bench the Airfix 148th P-40 and Revells 1/72nd Typhoon Mar 17: Airfix's new Stuka and Tamiya KI-61 both 48th Apr 17: Airfix again this time their 1/72nd Martlet Jun 17: Academy snap together F-15 E in 1/72nd and Zevezda Su-33 again in 1/72nd Jul 17: Tamiya Opel Blitz in 1/48th Aug 17: HobbyBoss Su-27 in 1/48th Oct 17: Hasegawa F-16 C in splinter aggressor scheme in 1/48th Nov 17: Airfix 1/72nd Me 262 and my kit of the year Kinetic 1/48th two seat Harrier T8

Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year to you all. I would like to share my last build of the bench with Kinetics new 2 seat Harrier. There is a little bit of a story around this kit so to keep it brief the kit arrived on the 14th October and work started immediately with a deadline for the kit to be on display at Telford just four weeks later. For those eagle eyed modellers amongst you it was on the IPMS Lancashire club display at SMW. Cant go into too much detail as the build will be in print. But a much improved build than their two Sea Harriers and a first in 1/48th scale injection moulded plastic. A thoroughly enjoyable built any one who thought NMFs were difficult than they should try gloss black! All out the box with Tamiya gloss black and Eduard RBF tags. Thanks for looking Rick G

There seems to have been a few of these posted up recently, and way better than mine, but heres my interpretation of the kit done in Royal Australian Air Force 3 SQN markings. The tail flash and this particular scheme called the Lizard scheme were both short-lived. The frill neck lizard on the tail dart being replaced with the 3 SQN winged grenade, and the EDSG of the lower surfaces being replaced with Light Gull grey The kit is certainly not my favourite, fit being not so great, and moulding quality poor for a kit released so recently paint is by Xtracolour with decals from caracal. Centre line beam comes from PJ Productions with bombs from a Hasegawa weapons set Resi-art resin wheels replaced the rather poor kit offerings Thanks for looking

In March 1981 the USAF announced the ETF program to replace the F-111. McDonnell Douglas entered the competition with the F-15E, a modified F-15D. General Dynamics summited the competition with a heavily altered F-16, the F-16XL. The F-15 was the favourable aircraft for a long time, two engines and a bigger payload. But when General Dynamics refitted their F-16XL late 1984 with the new General Electric F110 engine, super cruise suddenly came into reach. With the new and uncertain adversaries on the other side of the iron curtain, the mystic MiG-29 and Su-27, this feature made the F-16XL the winner of the competition. The F-16E Strike Falcon came into service in June 1988 and 540 where produced. It is still in service with the USAF, Israel and Australia.

Hi there, I was challenged by a mate: one month to build Kinetic's Hornet. Well, I didn't quite succeeded (one month and a week) but... So here it is, OOB, with Mr Paint paints and Kinetic decals. I can post a WIP if you're interested (let's say it was an entertaining build). Cheers, S.

Dassault Mirage IIIS/RS 1:48 Kinetic Models History In 1961, Switzerland bought a single Mirage IIIC from France. This Mirage IIIC was used as development aircraft. The Swiss Mirages were built in Switzerland by F+W Emmen (today RUAG, the federal government aircraft factory in Emmen), as the Mirage IIIS. Australia too, bought one French-made aircraft in preparation for licensed production. Cost overruns during the Swiss production led to the so-called "Mirage affair". In all, 36 Mirage IIIS interceptors were built with strengthened wings, airframe, and undercarriage. The Swiss Air Force required robustness comparable to that of carrier based planes; the airframes were reinforced so the aircraft could be moved by lifting them over other aircraft with a crane, as the aircraft caverns in the mountains that Swiss Air Force uses as bunkers offer very little space to manoeuvre parked aircraft. The strengthened frames allowed for JATO capability. The main differences to the standard Mirage III were as follows:- New US avionics with Changed cockpit design with gray instead of black panels New U.S. radar, TARAN-18 from Hughes Aircraft Company Use of HM-55S "Falcon" (Swiss designation of the SAAB Licence built Robot 27 (Rb27) which is similar to the Hughes AIM-26 "Falcon") Radar warning receiver (RWR) on both wingtips and on the back of the rudder Strengthened structure for use of JATO-Rockets Retractable nosecone and lengthened nosewheel leg for storing in Aircraft cavern. Four lifting points for moving aircraft in underground caverns with a crane Bay at the fin with a SEPR 841 rocket engine to double the velocity for short time or climb to 20,000 m (66,000 ft). US TRACOR AN/ALE-40 chaff/flare dispenser at the back under the end of the engine (fitted with the upgrade 1988). Canards designed and produced by RUAG Aerospace (fitted with the upgrade 1988) New Martin-Baker ejection-seat (fitted with the upgrade 1988). The Swiss Mirages are equipped with RWS, chaff & flare dispensers. Avionics differed as well, with the most prominent difference being that the Thomson-CSF Cyrano II radar was replaced by Hughes TARAN-18 system, giving the Mirage IIIS compatibility with the Hughes AIM-4 Falcon AAM. Also the Mirage IIIS had the wiring to carry a Swiss-built or French nuclear bomb. The Swiss nuclear bomb was stopped in the pre-production stage and Switzerland did not purchase the French-made one. The Mirage IIIS had an integral fuel tank under the aft belly; this fuel tank could be removed and replaced with an adapter of the same shape. This adapter housed a SEPR (Société d'Etudes pour la Propulsion par Réaction) rocket engine with its 300 l (79 US gal; 66 imp gal) nitric acid oxidiser tank. With the SEPR rocket, the Mirage IIIS easily reached altitudes of 24,000 m, an additional thrust of 1500 kp, the SEPR could be switched off and on minimum three times in a flight, a maximum use of 80 seconds was possible. In case of an emergency it was possible to jettison the SEPR Unit in low speed flight. The rocket fuel was very hazardous and highly toxic, so the SEPR rocket was not used very often, special buildings for maintenance were built in Buochs and Payerne and the personnel had to wear special protective suits. The Mirage IIIRS could also carry a photo-reconnaissance centerline pod and an integral fuel tank under the aft belly; this carried a smaller fuel load but allowed a back looking film camera to be added. In the early 1990s, the 30 surviving Swiss Mirage IIIS interceptors were put through an upgrade program, which included fitting them with fixed canards and updated avionics. The Mirage IIIS were phased out of service in 1999. The remaining Mirage IIIRS, BS and DS were taken out of service in 2003 The Model This is the fourth iteration of the Kinetic Mirage III kit, first released in 2014, you could say seventh, since three versions were also re-issued by Wingman Models. On opening the colourful box lid, which has two of the aircraft in flight, both in similar commemorative schemes, you will find nine sprues of medium grey styrene, one sprue of clear styrene and a large decal sheet. Kinetic have done a great job with the moulding, with very fine, recessed panel lines and rivet detail, raised areas where required, with no sign of flash or other imperfections and only a few moulding pips. The instructions are beautifully clear and easy to read and if the kit goes together as well as their recently released F-18C apparently does, then it will be a joy to build. Construction begins with the assembly of the six piece ejection seat, which, although nice, doesn’t have any belts to finish it off with, so you will have to resort to aftermarket items. The single piece cockpit tub is fitted out with an upper rear bulkhead, alternative instrument panel, depending on whether you are building the S or RS versions, joystick, rudder pedals and several black boxes. The kit comes with full length, split, air intake trunking with either side being assembled from two parts, and joining together just before the fan disk once the fuselage halves are closed up. There doesn’t appear to be a problem with join lines as they will be so deep within the fuselage you will be hard pressed to see them. With the intakes fitted, the cockpit tub, three piece nose wheel bay, two piece exhaust, with separate nozzle, and the separate fan disk are glued to one half of the fuselage, after which the fuselage can be closed up. Two holes on either side of the fuselage need to be opened up and the four lifting eyes fitted, for when the aircraft is hung from the ceiling of the tunnels that the Swiss used at the time. The fairing aft of the cockpit is then attached, along with the two outer intake fairings, which also need to have two holes drilled out for the canards, and the two upper pitot probes fitted just forward of the cockpit. The two upper wing panels are then attached to the single piece lower wing panel. This assembly is the fitted with the upper and lower airbrakes, two piece rear under-fuselage fairing, and two lower panels, with side of the fairing. Shame the rocket motor panel isn’t included, but I guess you can’t have it all. The wing assembly is then glued to the fuselage assembly and the whole model begins to look like an aircraft. The undercarriage is assembled next, with the three piece nose-wheel attached to the yoke, which in turn is attached to the nose wheel leg, which is then fitted with the lower nose bay door, landing lamps and scissor link. The assembly is then glued into position, followed by the main door, upper front door and main actuator. If you wish to pose the undercarriage up, the doors will need to have the fixing pins, and in the case of the main door, the actuator removed. The lower panel, underneath the cockpit is then fitted, along with a pair of probes and a pair of aerials. The main undercarriage are ach made from a three piece wheel, three part leg and two doors, which again need the pins removed if they are to be posed closed. A bit more detailing includes the fitting of the fin fillet, canards, two upper fuselage intakes, a panel above the rudder, the windscreen, canopy and a choice of nose cones. The simple S nose is made from two halves and the pitot probe, whilst the camera nose for the RS is made from two halves, a lower panel, a camera bar insert and the pitot probe. On the underside of the wing the flight control actuator fairings are attached, and there is a choice of flap fairings depending on whether the modeller wishes to pose the flaps retracted or deployed. The same goes for the two pylons. The separate flaps and flaperons are then attached, followed by two, two piece drop tanks finishing the build. Whilst the kit comes with another pair of tanks, rocket pods and a pair of missiles, these aren’t used with this variant. Decals The decals appear to be designed and printed by Kinetic themselves; they look pretty good, being in register, good colour density and quite glossy, which matches the glossy scheme the aircraft should be painted in. There are large and small roundels, plus a set of low vis roundels. The kit does come with a full set of stencils and warning symbols. The options are:- Mirage IIIRS R-2110 “Mirage Swiss Farewell” Staffel 10, Swiss Air Force, Buochs Air Base, 2003 Mirage IIIRS R-2116 “Mirage Swiss Farewell” Staffel 10, Swiss Air Force, Buochs Air Base, 2003 Mirage IIIRS R-2111, Staffel 10, Swiss Air Force, Buochs Air Base, 2002 Mirage IIIS J-2327, Staffel 16, Swiss Air Force, Sion Air Base, 1998 Conclusion I’ve not seen other versions of the Kinetic Mirage, but I really like this one, and I’m not normally an aircraft modeller. There is something special about the Mirage III series that brings back memories of seeing them at airshows when I was a kid. The options and colour schemes with the kit will make a nice addition to any collection.

After the Su-33 (thread here: link), Kinetic is to release in 2017-2018 a 1/48th Shenyang J-15 Fēishā "Flanker-D" kit - ref. K48065 Source: http://data3.primeportal.net/models/thomas_voigt11/kinetic/images/kinetic_7_of_7.jpg V.P.

IAI Kfir C2/C7 Kinetic Models 1:48 History The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir ("Lion Cub") is an Israeli-built all-weather, multirole combat aircraft based on a modified French Dassault Mirage 5 airframe, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-made version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine. Two powerplants were initially selected for trials, the General Electric J79 turbojet and the Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan. In the end, the J79 was selected, not least because it was the same engine used on the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, which the Israelis began to acquire from the United States in 1969, along with a license to produce the J79 themselves. The J79 was clearly superior to the original French Atar 09, providing a dry thrust of 49 kN (11,000 lb) and an afterburning thrust of 83.4 kN (18,750 lb). In order to accommodate the new powerplant on the Mirage III's airframe, and to deliver the added cooling required by the J79, the aircraft's rear fuselage was slightly shortened and widened, its air intakes were enlarged, and a large air inlet was installed at the base of the vertical stabilizer, so as to supply the extra cooling needed for the afterburner. The engine itself was encased in a titanium heat shield. A two-seat Mirage IIIBJ fitted with the GE J79 made its first flight in September 1970, and was soon followed by a re-engined Nesher, which flew in September 1971. The Kfir entered service with the IAF in 1975, the first units being assigned to the 101st "First Fighter" Squadron. Over the following years, several other squadrons were also equipped with the new aircraft. The role of the Kfir as the IAF's primary air superiority asset was short-lived, as the first F-15 Eagle fighters from the United States were delivered to Israel in 1976. The Kfirs first recorded combat action took place on November 9, 1977, during an Israeli air strike on a training camp at Tel Azia, in Lebanon. The only air victory claimed by a Kfir during its service with the IAF occurred on June 27, 1979 when a Kfir C.2 shot down a Syrian MiG-21. By the time of the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1982 (Operation Peace for Galilee) the IAF was able to use both its F-15s and F-16s for air superiority roles, leaving the Kfirs to carry out unescorted strike missions. Shortly afterwards, all IAF C.2s began to be upgraded to the C.7 version, with enhanced weight performance, making the Kfir more suitable to its new fighter-bomber role. During the second half of the 1990s, the Kfirs were withdrawn from active duty in the IAF, after almost twenty years of continuous service. The Model The kit, contained in the usual attractive box with an artists representation of the aircraft in dramatic pose of dropping a LGB and dispensing flares. Inside the kit is on seven sprues of light grey styrene, one sprue of clear styrene and two small sprues of a greeny-blue styrene. There is a nice double sided A4 colour chart and painting guide as well as a medium sized decal sheet. The parts are all very well moulded with fine recessed panel lines, fasteners, and raised areas, such as strengthening plates, where required. There is no sign of flash on any of the parts and only a very few moulding pips. The styrene appears to be on the soft side and any ejection pin marks aren’t on the visible sides of parts. The clear parts are very clear, although there does seem to be some distortion on the curving top surface of the main canopy. Initial impression is that this a nice looking kit and from completed examples on Britmodeller does in fact build into an excellent model. Construction starts with the ejection seat. Now there are two in the kit, one for the C2 and one for the C7. Each seat is made of five parts, the seat squab and backrest, two sides, head box top and ejection handle. Unfortunately there are no straps or belts provided so the modeller will have to either scratch build or buy an aftermarket set. There are also a number of sub-assemblies shown to be built on the first page of the instructions; these include the HUD, which is made up of three clear parts, an auxiliary air duct, and cockpit rear bulkhead, on which two electronics boxes are fitted. The cockpit is made up of the cockpit tub, moulded as a single part, the ejection seat, optional instrument panels, depending on which mark is being modelled, two rudder pedals and the joystick. The detail on the cockpit tub is a little soft and really could do with extra detailing, as do the instrument panels, although some very careful painting may bring out the moulded detail on these. The next stage is to make some more sub-assemblies, which include the undercarriage, nosewheel bay, intake ducts, tail flare dispenser, exhaust nozzle, the alternative noses and the LGB illuminator pod. The nose wheel is built up with the oleo, scissor link, landing lights, wheel hub and two tyre parts, whilst the main undercarriage components are made up of the oleo and similar three piece wheel arrangement as the nose wheel. The nosewheel bay is a three piece affair with the roof, moulded with front and rear bulkheads and the two side pieces. The detail moulded on these parts look pretty good and will be enhanced with some careful painting and weathering. The alternative noses, whilst having different parts look very similar and the completed assemblies only differ by what looks like an auxiliary intake/outlet duct. The engine exhaust is built with just two parts with the exhaust fan moulded complete with the exhaust duct, which looks like it will quite awkward to paint effectively, onto which the exhaust nozzle is attached. The sub-assemblies for the intake ducts, cockpit, nosewheel bay, and cockpit rear bulkhead are then fitted to one of the fuselage halves, and then the fuselage can be closed up. The nose and external parts of the intakes can then be attached. Two holes need to be opened up on either side of the spine for additional parts fitted later in the build. Moving onto the wings, these are made up of a single piece lower wing and two upper wing sections. Onto the completed wing the flaps, (flaperons?), can be constructed either up or down using different parts for the actuator fairings. The four airbrakes are then attached, two above and two below in either retracted or deployed positions. The wing is then attached to the fuselage along with the two cannon troughs, canards, engine nozzle, the engine fan disk, fitted the now joined intake ducts, the windscreen and canopy, although this should really be left off until the end of the build if being posed open as it will surely be knocked off. To the underside of the aircraft several sensors, probes, outlets and aerials are fitted, as are the optional panels aft of the nosecone, one with a laser guidance pod and one without. The undercarriage is then completed. Each main leg has an actuator and the two outer doors attached, whilst the nose leg has its actuator and the front bay door fitted. The main bays also have the large inner doors glued into place, through research there doesn’t seem to be a definitive position for these when the aircraft is shutdown. Some pictures show them open whilst on some aircraft they’re closed, so it’s really up to the modeller how they should position them. What Kinetic do well is provide the modeller with plenty of weapons to hang off their completed aircraft, and this kit is no different. Apart from three different types of drop tanks the kit provides the following:- • Two Griffin LGBs • Seven Mk82 bombs with retard tails. • Seven CBU-20 cluster bombs • Two Python AAM There are of course the requisite pylons for these weapons to be hung off, in addition to a Multiple Ejection Rack, (MER) for the centre line station on the C2 version. Not all weapons can be used for both versions. Decals There are in fact two decal sheets, the main, large one, and a small additional one. This small sheet is for one aircrafts numbers, the Hebrew equivalent and a decal for the flare dispenser. The decals, by Cartograph are up to their usual high standard, being very thin, glossy with a fine carrier film. The register appears to be very good as is the opacity. They should settle down with the modellers’ solutions of choice. There are national markings and stencils for one aircraft and insignia and identification numbers for the following:- • Kfir C2 number 805, The Valley squadron, Ramat-David AF Base 1983 • Kfir C2 number 861, The Valley squadron, Ramat-David AF Base 1985 • Kfir C7 number 553, Venus, The Arava Guardians, Hatzor AF Base 1988 • Kfir C7 number 539, Venus, The Arava Guardians, Hatzor AF Base 1992 • Kfir C7 number 521, Pluto, The Arava Guardians, Hatzor AF Base 1994 Conclusion This is another great looking kit of a really good looking aircraft from Kinetic. Yes the detail could be improved in the cockpit and the main undercarriage bays, but it will build into a good looking model straight from the box. Highly recommended In association with

Source: http://www.cybermodeler.com/news/avart.shtml A new company - yes another one - called Aviation Art is to release an all new tool 1/48th Sukhoi Su-33 "Flanker-D" (formerly Su-27K) kit - ref.48001. Aviation Art is linked to the famous designer Chris "Zactoman" Wilson from Zactomodels - http://www.zactomodels.com/. Source: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=268873 Remember, HobbyBoss is supposed to release in 2014 a 1/48th Su-27 "Flanker-B" kit: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234932992-148th-sukhoi-su-27-flanker-b-by-hobbyboss-in-2013/?hl=flanker V.P.

What a kit by Kinetic. Usually over engineered and far too complicated this kit is sublime. With superb detail at every level and great decal options you cannot go wrong! The only let down with this kit are the instructions. They are poorly printed and leave you guessing on some stages! This is an out of the box build with the only addition being the eduard cockpit set. The paints are Hakata blue line Russian ST set and Vallejo and MIG metal paints. The base is Coastal kits display bases Admiral Kustinovof's deck..

Su-33 Sea Flanker "Mission in Syria" Decals 1:48 Begemot Decals With the release of the Kinetic Sea Flanker some brief time ago, a wealth of new aftermarket parts have reached the market to cater for what is a rather nice kit. The Flanker-D is the sea-going variant of the Su-27, although that is probably WAY too simplified a description, but that's all you're getting! Russia's controversial engagement in Syria has seen their small fleet of this relatively unsuccessful carrier born aircraft taking part in operations against ISIS factions, with one aircraft lost as a result of an arrestor cable malfunction, sparing the pilot from injury, but leaving him a little damp from the experience. The remaining fleet decamped to a land base after this incident while the Admiral Kuznetsov's landing systems were repaired and tested. This set of decals in 1:48 from our friends at Begemot arrives in an oversized ziplok bag with the instruction sheet printed on glossy paper in black & white, plus an additional sheet that has been added to include one more aircraft. The decal sheet is packed with markings in a wealth of colours, and it too has extras in the shape of two sheets of white-edged red number 84s in two sizes. The sheets are in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. From the sheet you can model the following: Su-33 06001, 1st Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, 2016 Su-33 06204, 1st Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, 2016 Su-33 06305, 1st Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, end of November 2016 Su-33 06205, 1st Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, 2016 Su-33 06204, 1st Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, 2016 Su-33 05101, 1st Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, 2016 Su-33 04205, 1st Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, 2016 Su-33 08201, 2nd Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, 2016 Su-33 08302, 2nd Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, 2016 Su-33 09301, 2nd Aerial Squadron, 279th Carrier Fighter Aviation Regiment, Admiral Kuznetsov, Mediterranean Sea, 2016 For more information on the personalisations of the various airframes you can download the instruction booklet here if you'd like to study the details, choose your scheme in advance, and/or pick up some additional paints for the task in hand. Speaking of paints, there are six colours suggested for the aircraft, as follows: Flat light blue FS25526 Flat intermediate blue FS25450 Flat blue/grey FS25190 Flat white FS27886 Dark metal Burnt metal The instructions advise that due to the painting of each aircraft individually, coupled with the anti-corrosion and patch painting that goes on aboard ship, you should check reference photos of the originals to satisfy yourself of demarcation lines and for shading purposes if you intend to weather your model, or depict it at a particular point in its career. Conclusion The Sea Flanker may have been a short run of 24 airframes, but its canards give it a certain appeal, and painting your model in some of the most recent schemes is a tempting option, but which one? Orcas, tigers or eagles? Highly recommended. You can order direct from Andrey using PayPal by contacting him on [email protected] Review sample courtesy of

G'day people, I have cracked the bags on this one. The Dassault Mirage III certainly needs no introduction and this aircraft in RAAF service was affectionately known as the 'Miracle' as in it is a miracle it could fly with such tiny wings! Based upon the Mirage III/E, the 'O' (for "Ostralie") differed mainly in the avionics equipment installed and externally this is manifest by the antenna arrangements, although other differences existed as well. I am undecided as to which scheme I will do but as I have 'several' of these stashed away, I will be a little spoilt for choice. The long career of the Mirage in RAAF service meant that the schemes worn by the "French Lady" (the other moniker) varied from the delivery scheme of natural metal, to doped silver, then a wraparound disruptive camo, which in turn evolved into the 'standard' camouflage scheme. Towards the end of the service life,a number of low visibility schemes were trialed, plus there were several display and test schemes, so no shortage of choice! I will not bother with box and content shots as there are plenty of these about. Well, onto the plastic then, First up, the cockpit. The tub is a simple affair and the detail on the console is adequate, but I decided that a little PE would be better. I sanded off the console details as this would be replaced by pre-painted PE. I am not a big fan but I cannot argue with the crispness. RAAF Mirage cockpits were basically black, so it will be a challenge to make this interesting and get the details to pop as there is the tendency for the details to disappear into the blackness. I shaved off the aft bulkhead details as these are not correct for an RAAF Mirage.The PE additions go some way to making the cockpit more accurate. Some lead wire and scrap styrene details completed the detailing. Four different instrument panels are provided. I ignored the instruction's suggested instrument panel option and instead opted to use part C16, however this part needs modification. The RAAF mirage featured a large central RADAR display. I scraped the details off the centre panel then removed the panel in toto. A small section of styrene was then inlaid at a slight angle. Finally the engine exhaust received some attention. The turbine face detail is nicely executed, but this is moulded integrally to the burner can. In order to simplify the painting, I separated the turbine face. And lastly, the exhaust was dressed up with a very nice piece of PE which required some care to install. The interior nozzle segments were separate items but the central ring and inner vanes and actuators were a single part. removing this item from its fret was a little nerve wracking as it would be very easy to damage this item. cheers, Pappy

Hey again... Yep two finishes in as many days - definitely NOT the way I usually roll, but no matter. Kinetic 1:48 Alpha Jet with (outstanding) Wingman decals and no other extras whatsoever. Kit does have some 'build issues' most notably in the wing/fuselage join - so-much-so that in order to build it with the flaps dropped, you need to cut away a couple of milimeters from the inside edge of the flaps and re-profile them with a sanding stick to get them wing in to position. Also the engraved details appear to have been applied by an entrenching tool... all that said, it's still light-years ahead of the old Heller & Esci kits from back in the day. Paints are all Xtracolour enamels except the yellow on the fin which is Tamiya acrylic straight from the jar. Please feel free to make any criticism, comments or ask any questions. Ian.

Hi all, here's my latest finish for the F-16 STGB here on Britmodeller. The full WIP thread is here but to recap: Kit: Kinetic 1/72 F-16I Sufa Build: Airframe and decals OOB. Missiles and wing tanks from kit. Extras: Pilots from Revell, LGB's from Hasegawa weapons set 6. Centreline tank from Revell. Static discharger-thingys from toothbrush (I broke the kit ones!) Paints: Halfords primer from a can. Revell Acrylics. Klear, Flory Models Wash, W&N Matt coat all brush painted. Kinetic 1_72_F-16I Sufa_1L by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Kinetic 1_72_F-16I Sufa_1side by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Kinetic 1_72_F-16I Sufa_2L by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Kinetic 1_72_F-16I Sufa_1_under by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Kinetic 1_72_F-16I Sufa_2R by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Kinetic 1_72_F-16I Sufa_1R by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Kinetic 1_72_F-16I Sufa_1_group by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Thanks for looking! Dermot

Kit - Kinetic 1:48 Paint - All enamels - AK Xtreme Metal, Tamiya & Xtracolour Decals - Kit Extras - Eduard Zoom set & Tamiya LAU-3 pods. Northrop F-5A 'Freedom Fighter' 522nd Squadron, 23rd Tactical Wing Tan Son Nhut AB Late 1967. Mostly the kit was an easy and rewarding build - I say mostly as the fit of the intakes was laughable, not so much as a gap at the rear, more of a 'yawning chasm' - however, I've wanted a 1:48 F-5 in this exact scheme since I saw a 1:72 model at the Nationals when it was held in Stoneleigh !!, yes I'm that patient. On the shelf it looks very comfortable alongside my other Vietnam builds. Would I build another ??, well probably a two-seater with a full load of three drop tanks like we used to see at the Mildenhall shows back in the day. Please feel free to ask any questions, make any comments or criticisms. AFN, next something in 1:72. Ian.

Since one of my last builds for 2016 happened to be a Tigermeet Belgian F-16, it was no surprise I was going to be involved in this GB! And while I had hoped to build the Greek Zeus 3 Demo Aircraft, the decals aren't yet available so I'm going with this one, fully OOB though I will add a couple of crew from the spares box. I've never built a Kinetic kit before and have heard mixed things about this one but here's hoping I can make a go of it. Thanks for looking and good luck with your builds! Dermot

Boeing F/A-18A/B/CF-188 Hornet 1:48 Kinetic After losing out to the F-16 for the light fighter requirement with the USAF, the US Navy became interested, and the Northrop YF-17 became the F/A-18, hooking up with McDonnell Douglas for their carrier aircraft experience, and making substantial changes to make the aircraft rugged and easier to park on a crowded aircraft carrier. The initial variant was designated A, with a trainer variant coded B after it was cleared for combat flight. It led the field with a glass cockpit and advanced electronics, although its relatively short range limits the usefulness of the afterburning GE turbofans unless substantial additional fuel tanks are carried. Canada chose the F-18 as their new fighter in the early 80s, with the official designation CF-188, although the aircraft were almost identiQe, although the Canadian roundels should give away the aircraft type long before that becomes relevant. Early in the new millennium the Canadian aircraft were upgraded to the then-current standard of US F-18s of the same mark, in order to interact with other NATO forces on exercises and in combat situations should they arise. The Kit We reviewed the initial Kinetic F-18 in September of last year here, and this new edition adds a little flexibility of building either a single seat or two-seat variant, as well as a Canadian bird from the one box. The sprues are almost identical to the earlier boxing, with a few additions that may be used, depending on which variant you intend to build. It includes and extra cockpit with seat, two-seat canopy, different main gear legs, vertical stabs with separate rudders, pylons and a replacement port nose part to accommodate the Grimes Light used for identifying aircraft at night. The box art depicts a couple of Canadian Hornets, one of which has just loosed off a Sidewinder at an unseen foe, and inside are fifteen sprues plus the lower fuselage part in grey styrene, three clear sprues, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass parts, and the combined instructions and painting guide. The build proceed along the same path as the earlier boxing with the exception of the options that differentiate the variants, which are noted up by the markings options. For the single-seat A model, a simple cover is fitted over the rear cockpit aperture, while in the two-seat B, another instrument panel, coaming, rudder pedals, control column and side consoles are installed instead. Of course, there is also another seat, and both have a couple of stencils on the headbox, and a full set of decals are included for the instrument panels, with a wide choice of extra decals to individualise the MFDs with eighteen alternative displays. The aforementioned Canadian Grimes light necessitates use of the additional nose part, which has an aperture in the centre of the ammunition loading door on the port side, which receives a clear lens that you should paint silver on the back to represent the reflector. The bird-slicers on the nose are appropriate for the majority of F-18s, but should be shaved off for early airframes, so check your references. If you are planning on posing your aircraft with folded wings, which is a lesser used option for the Canadian birds, you will need to cut off the wingtips along the pre-weakened lines as per the instructions before joining the wings, so plan ahead. Different vertical stabs are found on the new sprues, with small PE stiffening strips applied to each assembly on the port sides, leaving the original stabs for the spares bin. The spine behind the canopy will be different depending on whether you are modelling a single or two seat Hornet, so take care in applying the correct one, although it would be difficult to make a mistake with the glue, as the 2nd seat will stop you mid-flow. The construction of the canopies are almost identical, with separate framing, a set of PE rear-view mirrors and HUD for the pilot, but the two-seat canopy also has a bracing strut between the seats, and a more substantial opening jack. The main gear legs also have optional parts for the Canadian aircraft, with a slightly different bracing strut differentiating between them, but the nose gear is the same between all variants. Munitions for this variant are slightly changed from the original boxing, and a new centreline pylon is included, although it is never shown installed on the instructions. On the sprues you have the following stores: 2x AIM-120B AMRAAM 2x AIM-120C AMRAAM 2x AIM-9M Sidewinder 2x AIM-9X Sidewinder 2x GBU-38 500lb JDAM 2x CBU-87 Cluster Bomb (referred to as GBU-87) 2x GBU-12 Paveway Laser Guided Bomb AAQ-28 Litening targeting pod Sniper XR advanced targeting pod AAS-38 Nitehawk FLIR & Laser Designation pod 3x 330gal fuel tanks Adapter rails for the missiles and pylon for the Sniper XR pod are included on the sprues, as well as a pair of Multiple Ejector Racks (MER) should you require them. A page of the instructions deals with their painting and decaling with stencils, as well as their possible locations on the pylons in a graphical format. As always, if you are going for a real-world load-out, check your references before settling on your final choices. Markings Colour call-outs are given throughout with Mig AMMO paint codes, but at the end of the main instructions equivalent codes for Vallejo, Gunze, Tamiya and Humbrol paint systems are given in a large table above the guide for the instrument panel decals mentioned earlier. Stencil details are given in the next two pages, after which the decal choices are shown in greyscale drawings from the sides only, as the upper and lower decaling is completed in the stencil pages. From the box you can build one of the following: CF-188A, 409Sq Canadian Air Force, June 2016 CF-188A/B, 410Sq Canadian Air Force, June 2016 CF-188A/B, 425Sq Canadian Air Foce, 2015 F/A-18A A21-35, No.75Sq Royal Australian Air Force, 2015 Australian International Airshow Special Scheme F/A-18A A21-4, No.77Sq Royal Australian Air Force, 2014 F/A-18A A21-57, No.3Sq Royal Australian Air Force, Operation OKRA against ISIL, 2015 EF-18AM C.15-25 Ala 15, Spanish Air Force, Anatolian Eagle exercise in Konya, Turkey, 2015 EF-18AM C.15-50, Ala 12, Spanish Air Force, 2016 F/A-18A+ (Ex US Navy) C.15-85, Ala 46, Spanish Air Force, 2016 The Australian and Canadian Hornets are painted medium grey (FS35237) over light ghost grey (36375), while the Spanish aircraft are light ghost grey (36375) all over with black canopies painted on the underside of the nose to confuse the enemy in a dogfight. Decals are designed by Cross Delta, printed by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin glossy carrier film cut close to the printed areas. An additional decal sheet is also included, adding a few that appear to have been missed from the main sheet. Conclusion Another nice looking model from the Kinetic stable, giving some of the non-US operators precedence out of the box. Detail is excellent throughout, the stores provided in the box are more than adequate, and the choice of decal options is pretty wide. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of